Some things are illegal but everyone seems to get away with them: littering, jay walking, and not paying child support or maintenance. There are laws against the failure to pay support but they are rarely enforced in criminal courts. Therefore, the support-receiver must exhaust all efforts in divorce court before invoking the State or Federal criminal penalties as described below. The Crime Of Failing To Pay Child Support Or Maintenance In Illinois Failure to pay child support and/or maintenance (formerly known as alimony) is a crime in Illinois “A person commits the offense of failure to support when he or she (1) willfully, without any lawful excuse, refuses to provide for the support or maintenance of his or her spouse, with the knowledge that the spouse is in need of such support or maintenance, or, without lawful excuse, deserts or willfully refuses to provide for the support or maintenance of his or her child or children in need of support or maintenance and the person has the ability to provide the support; or” 750 ILCS 16/15(a)(1) This is pretty broad! An order from a court is not even required. Just refusal to pay something or abandonment. The state’s attorney is probably going to want an actual order so that it’s easier to prove that the crime of failure to support occurred. In that case, you need zero payments for 6 months or an arrearage of support in an amount of more than $ 5,000. (“2) willfully fails to pay a support obligation required under a court or administrative order for support, if the obligation has remained unpaid for a period longer than 6 months, or is in arrears in an amount greater than $5,000, and the person has the ability to provide the support; or” 750 ILCS 16/15(a)(2) “A person convicted of a first offense under subdivision (a)(1) or (a)(2) is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.” 750 ILCS 16/15(b) “For a Class A misdemeanor: The sentence of imprisonment shall be a determinate sentence of less than one year” 730 ILCS 5/5-4.5-55(a) If the obligor leaves Illinois to avoid paying support or the amount of support owed is over $ 20,000, they are subject to a felony charge. “(3) leaves the State with the intent to evade a support obligation required under a court or administrative order for support, if the obligation, regardless of when it accrued, has remained unpaid […]